THE GOODS: MAC’s Naked Honey
There’s something just so sweet and pure when it comes to homegrrrls and honey. A sticky ole love affair that just can’t be denied. There’s Erykah Badu riffing in that funky sweet southern drawl, “You got that honey/ You running from me/ You really turn me on.” And there’s The Secret Life of Bees that featured Queen Latifah running the business of “Black Madonna Honey” using her product to wax metaphorically about justice, honesty and fearlessness. We have our original Honey grrrl crew that gave us a fab mag to call our own. Honey is Oshun’s (need I say more) and of course I can’t forget the incomparable all female, all Black, empowerment ensemble– Sweet Honey In The Rock.
My own love for honey goes way back to my pre-teen days when I took our quintessential childhood fave– The Butter Sandwich, to the next level by toasting the bread and adding a heavy drizzle of honey onto the pats of melting butter. Oooh wheee! All the kids on my block bit my style on that one. Even now I gotta have my honey bears like Patti Labelle has to have her Red Devil hot sauce. It’s that serious. So when I saw Mac was releasing a 13-piece limited edition collection called Naked Honey featuring make-up, body products and fragrances with shades and scents inspired by honey, of course, I was curious.
Let me start off by saying that I’m not a hard-core make-up grrrl. Not even close– just lipstick, eyeliner, concealer and bronzing powder. So needless to say I walked past the displays with the frosty “high-light” powders and eye shadows and went straight to the Lipglass, which is totally my thing. I’m already a big fan of their Oh Baby and Viva Glam VI tints, but was looking for something special just for the summer when I spotted Naked Honey’s Buzz.
Buzz LipGlass is a warm copper brown gloss with glints of gold and violet. It really brings out the bronze in us bronze goddesses and made my face look warm and tanned.
The Naked Honey Skin Salve is a little pot of golden, sweet, mellifluous moisturization. Made from organic beeswax and sunflower oil it really feels like the real thing. It’s thick like honey and even taste a bit like Golden Blossom, but in this case the size of the product does not match up to the price. A little bigger than Carmex, but priced at $19 this is a luxury item that I’ll only experience this once. It’s good, but it ain’t that good.
Their Honey Body Wash is “formulated from bio-converted honey” (whatever that means). There’s hints of jasmine, narcissus and lavender giving it a soft, sensual scent that is more earthy-warm than sunny-sweet. Loved it, but again at $19 for a measly 3.4 oz. they can keep it and I’ll just stick to my Aveda and Dr. Bonner faves.
